


Time After Time

by Pokeluv101



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2019-02-02 02:32:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12717879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pokeluv101/pseuds/Pokeluv101
Summary: Years after Mahiru dies, Kuro finds a person that looks like him.





	Time After Time

Grief was a ghost that Sleepy Ash got better at ignoring with time. It was almost fifty years since Mahiru passed away and there was not a day that went by that he didn’t think of him. Sleepy Ash loved Mahiru but he never got the chance to tell him before he died. They shared so many precious moments and he wondered how many more they would’ve had if he had a little more courage. He knew he would carry that love and regret for the rest of his life.

A person like Mahiru was rare so Sleepy Ash knew it would be unlikely that he would fall in love again. He missed him more than words could describe. At least he had his family to help fill the hole Mahiru left when he died. Wrath invited him to stay on her apple farm, which he accepted, and his siblings visited him often. He was thankful for them and they made his days brighter.

But that ghost would appear at the most unexpected times. He returned to Tokyo to visit Lily and he was walking down the street when he thought he heard Mahiru’s voice. Sleepy Ash knew that it was impossible and fool hearted but he chased that voice. He ran through the rain desperately for some time but he gave up once reality crashed down on his hopes. Mahiru was dead and the rain was making him hear things.

Sleepy Ash intended to go on his way to see Lily again but stopped when he realized where he was. He was standing in the alley Mahiru first picked him up. With a bitter laugh, he leaned against the wall because his legs suddenly felt weak. He blindly chased Mahiru’s voice so he didn’t recognize his surroundings until he came to his senses. Sleepy Ash closed his eyes to and became so lost in his own memories that he didn’t hear someone approach him.

“Are you okay?” A warm voice reached him and the rain suddenly stopped. Sleepy Ash opened his eyes and gasped when he saw the person holding an umbrella over him. A million thoughts and questions ran through his mind. He opened his mouth but the only thing that came out was an incoherent string of words. But what other reaction could he have to the person standing in front of him?

The person was the splitting image of Mahiru.

“You shouldn’t be out in this rain without an umbrella.” He even had Mahiru’s voice and a shiver ran through Sleepy Ash when he heard it. The person stepped closer to him so his umbrella would shield them both from the rain. His already weak legs gave way and he sank to the ground. The person gasped and held out his hand to him. “Are you hurt? Can you stand again?”

His warm kindness was also like Mahiru’s and he couldn’t take the hand he held out to him because shock paralyzed him. Worry entered his brown eyes and Sleepy Ash felt guilty when he recognized it. He opened his mouth to say something to reassure him but, once again, the words became caught in his throat. The person knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his forehead.

“It doesn’t seem like you have a fever and you’re not bleeding anywhere. But we should get you out of this rain. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of you. My name’s Mahiru and I live—” Sleepy Ash threw himself forward and into his chest. The force sent the umbrella flying but neither of them felt the rain pouring around them. He wrapped his arms around Mahiru and clung to him like a lost child. Sleepy Ash let out a little sob and he was glad that the rain disguised the tears running down his cheeks.

Mahiru was confused but the arms around him felt vaguely nostalgic. He wrapped his arms around the familiar stranger and tenderly stroked his hair. He meant to comfort him with the gesture but it made the person cry all the more. “It’s alright. Whatever it is you’re going through, I’m sure you’ll get through it. Thinking simply, life is about balance so it’s bound to get better. That’s what my uncle says.”

“God, you even have the same stupid saying as him.” Sleepy Ash didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or cry more. He settled on a weak smile and rubbed his face against his shoulder. Everything about this Mahiru was painfully identical to his Mahiru. He knew Mahiru probably thought he was crazy and there was a possibility that he was.

“Are you okay now?” Mahiru asked once his tears subsided and Sleepy Ash finally let go of him. He leaned away with a small nod but he couldn’t bring himself to part from him completely. He risked a glance at Mahiru’s expression and saw the patient compassion he was all too familiar with. “If you’re feeling better, I can walk you home. I wouldn’t want to see you get sick when I have an umbrella we can share.”

“… You don’t have to.” Sleepy Ash mumbled and Mahiru shook his head. “I’m a drifter so I don’t really have a home.”

“Is there someone you can turn to? I know I’m going to sound a little pushy and selfish but I just can’t leave you like this. I’ll worry about you until I know you’re safe. Please, let me help you.” Instead of Sleepy Ash replying, his stomach did. It growled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten for the day. He blushed a little and Mahiru giggled when he saw his shy expression.

“At least your stomach knows when to ask for help.” Mahiru stood and pulled him to his feet. He fetched his umbrella before he led Sleepy Ash out of the alley. “My uncle runs a café not far from here so we can get you something to eat there. I live there as well so you can borrow some of my clothes.”

“You really don’t need to do this.” Sleepy Ash said but he allowed him to drag him forward. The knowing smile Mahiru tilted up at him silenced any further argument he had. While he was confused by the situation, he decided to plunge himself in this turn of events. Even if this Mahiru was all a dream, he wanted to spend more time with him.

They stopped in front of a small café and Mahiru pulled him inside. He waved to a man behind the counter. “Uncle, can you make something warm for my friend?”

Once he nodded, Mahiru took Sleepy Ash to an empty booth and gently pushed him into the chair. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going upstairs to get something for you to change into. Here, take this, Kuro.”

“Kuro?” Sleepy Ash glanced from his face to the umbrella he held out to him. Mahiru looked a little hesitant but then he pushed the umbrella into his hands.

“I hope you don’t mind that I gave you a name. You never told me your name and you don’t seem like you want me to tell me much either. I know I can be pushy. You keep looking around like you’re going to run. If you’re going to leave before I get back, at least take my umbrella with you so I know you won’t get sick from the rain.” Mahiru bit his lip. He didn’t know why but he didn’t like the thought of him leaving.

“Kuro…” He repeated the name again and it felt oddly nostalgic. “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you.”

He looked relieved and nodded at him with a small smile. How could Sleepy Ash leave after he got to see his smile again after going without it for fifty years? Mahiru started to leave but stopped at the staircase. Then, he ran back to Sleepy Ash. “I’m going to sound crazy but… have we met before? I feel like I know you but this is the first time we’ve met. I’m certain I would remember meeting someone with red eyes like yours.”

Mahiru reached over and brushed Sleepy Ash’s wet hair out of his eyes. He didn’t even think before he made the small gesture and his body moved unconsciously. Their gaze held each other’s for a moment before Mahiru remembered himself and pulled away. If Kuro didn’t think he was crazy before, he was certain he did now.

“I’m sorry! I’ll go get you some clothes now. Keep that umbrella as a present from me.” Mahiru was about to leave when Sleepy Ash took his hand in his. “Kuro?”

With that one whisper, a light burst around them and a new cycle began. Sleepy Ash didn’t really know why or how but since then, he would inevitably meet a reincarnation of Mahiru in that alley time and time again. Sometimes it would take a century, sometimes only twenty years, but they always found each other. Each time they met again, Sleepy Ash would be forced to watch him die again.

It was the most bittersweet torture Sleepy Ash could think of: to reunite with the love of his life but to be forced apart in the end. Sleepy Ash was certain that he was a glutton for pain because, no matter how much it hurt, he would always look for Mahiru. To him, that short time he could hold Mahiru again was worth the grief and pain that followed. He didn’t want to let Mahiru slip through his finger without telling him that he loved him like he did the first time.

So, Sleepy Ash found himself chasing Mahiru’s ghost time after time.

**Author's Note:**

> I was teetering between making this a complete angst fanfic or something more uplifting but it ended up somewhere in between and bittersweet.


End file.
